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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23206633">White Picket Fence</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckdiaz/pseuds/buckdiaz'>buckdiaz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crying, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death, Pre-Relationship, Swearing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:49:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,969</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23206633</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckdiaz/pseuds/buckdiaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>”It’s my dad” Buck said out of nowhere after a few minutes of sitting there in silence. ”Sorry?” Eddie asked as he looked at him. </p>
<p>”The.. body. It’s my dad” Buck said again. ”Most likely anyway. Probably” Buck continued in a whisper.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>320</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>White Picket Fence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Staring down at the empty water glass in the sink, Buck chewed on his lip as he listened to his clock ticking away. It had been roughly 30 minutes since the call. He knew he should probably call Maddie but he couldn’t get himself to do it. Because what if it wasn’t him? Then he would’ve made her upset and worried over nothing. </p>
<p>”Fuck” He swore as he pushed away from the counter and picked up his phone. His hands were shaking. He hated that after all this time he was being affected like this. Before he knew it he was dialing Eddie and Buck couldn’t decide if he actually wanted him to pick up or not. </p>
<p>”Hello? Buccck?” he heard Eddie say through the phone. ”Emm hi” Buck responded. ”You okay? I called your name like three times” Eddie said before Buck could hear some shuffling and the sound of Christopher laughing. </p>
<p>”Shit, you have Chris, emm never mind, I shouldn’t have called” Buck swore and went to hand up. ”Wait, hold on, what’s up? You obviously called for a reason” Eddie said. Buck sighed and looked around the apartment. ”No, really, it’s fine, I” Buck tried to say. ”No, stop lying, tell me” Eddie said more forcefully this time. </p>
<p>”Umm, I was just wondering if you could come with me somewhere? but you have Chris and Chris can’t come so, don’t worry, I’ll call someone else” Buck said and quickly hung up. Dropping his phone down, he put his hands down on the cold kitchen counter as he groaned. He’d just go alone. Hearing his phone buzz on the counter, he lifted it and saw it was a text from Eddie. </p>
<p>”I’ll be there in 20” </p>
<p>—</p>
<p>His foot was bouncing up and down as he sat on a kitchen chair. His phone was clutched in his hand, his shoes were on and he had put sunglasses on. Buck wasn’t really sure if he would need sunglasses because of the sun but he knew he’d need them to cover his eyes. </p>
<p>Jumping up as there was knocking on the door, Buck opened the door. </p>
<p>”Where’s Christopher?” Buck asked as he looked around to see if Eddie had brought him. ”I dropped him off with Karen and Hen, Buck, what’s going on?” Eddie asked worried. Buck closed the door behind him and locked it. ”I have the address put into my google maps, could you drive?” Buck asked as he started walking to where Eddie had parked. He could hear Eddie sigh and start walking too. ”Sure” </p>
<p>—</p>
<p>”Next right” Buck said quietly as he looked up from his phone. Sighing, he sat back in his seat, he glanced up at Eddie. </p>
<p>”Thanks for coming. And driving” Buck told him. ”No problem. Are you going to tell me where exactly we are going?” He asked. ”It would make driving you there easier” Eddie pointed out. ”No, it’s okay. You’ll see. We’re almost there anyway” Buck told him as he looked out the window. </p>
<p>”It’s the building at the end of the street” Buck said as they got close. Eddie looked around for a place to park before he actually looked at the building and frowned. ”Buck” He turned to look at him. Buck was chewing on his lip again as he stared at the building. </p>
<p>”You can come inside, I mean, if you want” Buck mumbled as he took off his seatbelt. ”Of course, I’ll come with” Eddie replied right away as he took off his seatbelt as well and got out of the car. Showing his hands into his pockets, Buck didn’t say a word as he walked to the entrance of the building.  Slipping off his sunglasses as he stepped inside, he walked slowly to the reception. </p>
<p>”Emm, I’m here to see someone about identifying a body?” Buck said softly as he looked at the man behind the desk. ”Of course, what’s your name?” He asked. ”Evan Buckley” Buck whispered as he looked down the hallway. Was he in one of those rooms? What would he look like?  </p>
<p>”Buck” Eddie whispered after he thanked the receptionist and put a hand on Buck’s hand. He looked up startled. ”Let’s sit down and wait. They’ll come get us in a sec” Eddie gave him a small smile. ”Oh okay” Buck said confused. He’d blanket out again. </p>
<p>Taking a seat next to Eddie, Buck felt his foot start to bounce again as they started their wait. </p>
<p>”It’s my dad” Buck said out of nowhere after a few minutes of sitting there in silence. ”Sorry?” Eddie asked as he looked at him. </p>
<p>”The.. body. It’s my dad” Buck said again. ”Most likely anyway. Probably” Buck continued in a whisper. </p>
<p>”Mr. Buckley, sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Lily Holland, I’m a counselor here” Lily said as she introduced herself. Buck stood up and took her hand. ”It fine” Buck replied with a tight smile. Eddie stood up as well. ”I’m Eddie Diaz. I’m a friend and work colleague. Would it be okay if I came with?” Eddie asked. </p>
<p>”As long as Mr. Buckley doesn’t mind?” Lily asked. Buck shook his head. ”I’d like for him to come, yeah” He said and cleared his throat. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the paper folder that was clutched in her hand. ”Okay. Follow me” Lily smiled and led the way. </p>
<p>Stepping inside a medium sized room, with two couches, a table in the middle and a few pictures on the wall, Buck cleared his throat again as he took a sit. Once again, his foot started bouncing. </p>
<p>”I understand you spoke to another counselor on the phone? About why you’re here today?” Lily asked as she sat down, putting the paper folder in her lap. Buck nodded. ”They found a man in his hotel room and you need me to confirm if it’s my dad or not” Buck replied, looking down on his leg as Eddie put his hand on it and gave it a squeeze. </p>
<p>”We found some ID papers in the room and we do believe its Victor Buckley based on those but we need a final ID from a family member to be sure” Lily spoke softly. Buck nodded and shifted in his seat. </p>
<p>”Cause of death is believed to be a heart attack in his sleep but they’ll schedule an autopsy unless there’s any objections. They have no reason to believe its anything but a natural death” Buck bit down on his lip and dug his nails into his palm. Of course the man would go out peacefully in his sleep. Fucker. </p>
<p>”I’m sorry, can I just see the photo?” Buck asked, tired of her little pauses and threading on eggshells. ”Of course. It’ll look like he’s sleeping but his color might be a little off. There’s no physical injuries” Lily explained as she grabbed the folder and opened it up. After confirming she had the right photos, she closed the folder again before holding it out to Buck. </p>
<p>”Take your time” Lily said gently as Buck took the folder in his hands. </p>
<p>Now that he was holding the damn folder, he couldn’t seem to get his hands to work. It felt like the folder was heavy and the thought of opening it was terrifying. </p>
<p>”Hey, I’m here. Whoever is on those photos” Eddie whispered as he put his hand on Buck’s back. Buck looked up at him and tried to give him a small smile but it felt more like a grimace. </p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the edge off the first page and opened it slowly, folding it back. He could feel both Lily and Eddie’s stares on him. Flicking through the photos, Buck let out a deep sigh as he looked at every detail of his face. Closing the folder, he dropped down on the table before putting his hands over his face and ruffling on his hair. </p>
<p>”Its him” He whispered as he did a tiny nod. He was trying so hard to keep his breathing normal but as he felt Eddie stroke his back and squeeze the back of his neck, he gasped for air as he started shaking. ”It’s my dad. My dad is dead” he cried as Eddie pulled him into a hug. </p>
<p>”Buck, I’m so sorry” Eddie whispered as he stroked his back and hugged him tightly. His heart breaking as he listened to his friend sob. </p>
<p>Buck stayed in Eddie’s hug for awhile after he’d stopped crying. He was still sniffling and he accepted the tissue from Lily. ”Thank you” he whispered as he dried his face. ”I’m going to give you my card, so if you have any question or you want to talk, just call me okay? Someone will be in contact with you regarding the remains and the protocols. Theres unfortunately some paper work with all of this” Lily said softly while Buck nodded. </p>
<p>”Thank you for coming and I’m so sorry for your loss” Lily said after they’d talked  a bit more about legal details. </p>
<p>The walk back to the car was silent and once Eddie started driving, Buck just stared out the window. </p>
<p>”I didn’t even know he was in town” Buck scoffed as he watched the pacing buildings. ”Growing up there was only one thing important to Victor Buckley and that was status. Status and image. He had his two kids, a dog and the white picket fence. He cared more about the fence and its maintenance than he did us. People could see the fence. Judge him” Buck rambled. </p>
<p>”With us kids, he could just beat with a belt until we listened and then send us to our rooms so we wouldn’t bother him” Buck shifted in his seat, he couldn’t seem to stop talking. ”I tried so hard to impress, make him like me. Make him proud. Fucking useless” Buck sniffled and squeezed his eyes shut. </p>
<p>”So why does it fucking hurt so much? I talked to him for all of like six times since I got the hell out of that house. Fuck” Buck swore as he started crying again. ”Let’s go inside” Eddie said as he parked the car. Sniffling as he undid his seatbelt, Buck headed to his door and unlocked it before stepping inside. </p>
<p>Grabbing a beer from the fridge he offered one to Eddie as well but he shook his head no, getting himself a glass of water before sitting next to Buck on his sofa. </p>
<p>”Thank you for coming with me. And I’m sorry about ruining your day with Christopher” Buck sniffed a he wiped his eyes. ”I couldn’t think of anyone else I wanted to come with me really so I just called without thinking” he said as he glanced at him. ”I don’t think I could’ve done it alone” Buck wrapped his hands around Eddie and squeezed. </p>
<p>”I love you, Eddie, you’re my best friend” Buck whispered as he pulled back slowly and stared into Eddie’s eyes. Wiping his eyes, he glanced down at Eddie’s lips and he leaned in to press his lips against Eddie’s but Eddie turned his head away. </p>
<p>”I” Buck stuttered as he felt his eyes well up with tears once again. ”Buck, listen to me” Eddie said as he grasped Buck’s head and made him look at him. </p>
<p>”I’m not saying no. I’m saying not now” Eddie told him gently. ”This isn’t the right time. Okay?” Eddie stroked Buck’s cheek. Managing a short nod, Buck sniffled as a tear slipped down from his eye. </p>
<p>As Eddie pulled him back for another hug, Buck went willingly. He’d call Maddie in a few minutes. Right now he just wanted to stay in Eddie’s embrace for as long as he could. There would come a time for everything else soon enough.</p>
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